(Hammond, IN) - Five people, including a teenager, were struck by a runaway wheel on a northwest Indiana interstate.

 

It happened Tuesday morning on eastbound I-80/94 near Hammond.

 

According to State Police, a passenger vehicle was parked on the shoulder of the interstate while people were trying to change a flat tire. A semi passing by suddenly lost a rear wheel, which bounced along a barrier wall, eventually striking five people standing around the disabled car.

 

One of the victims, a 15-year-old male, was taken to a local hospital, then transferred to Chicago with potentially life-threatening injuries. The other four sustained lesser injuries.

 

Neither drugs nor alcohol was considered to be a factor in the accident, but the semi was impounded for further inspection.